JournalInquirer.com
Posted June 18, 2009
Change is in the air
CT@Work
By Leo Canty

Everyone.. wet your finger...now hold it in the air. Great, you can be one of the many local weather watchers as we all try to figure out which way the winds are blowing on health care. At the moment the media radar is focused on the bright skies and storms that are cropping up all around the country as the latest debate over the future of our health and health care system is unfolding. President Obama and Congress, with our own Chris Dodd in the lead, have launched the campaign to get the program moving. People are lining up on all sides of the issue. Meanwhile, Connecticut has a plan and approach that's winding its way to the Governor's desk for a likely veto in a nod to her pals in the Big Business and Big Insurance lobbies. More on that in a future column, but for now let it be known that health care advocates in Connecticut have a far-reaching vision that anticipates and paves the way for a sensible federal solution. The Obama plan includes some key components that we've been pushing here: affordable, accessible, universal care that covers everyone; developing the medical home with electronic record keeping; investing in prevention and screening; better funding medical education; stronger data and research and dissemination of up-to-date medical information to practitioners; one-stop shopping for health care with a government-run plan option. At the moment there is not universal approval for the plan. There are supporters and detractors all over the spectrum and they are speaking out, everywhere. The hardest things to figure out are what is real and factual, and what is fabricated along with who is really on board and who is blowing smoke. Because, along with the winds of change, there is also a rush of hot air (and I don't mean just Rush Limbaugh) that needs to be filtered. Supporter or not the reality of change is undeniable. In 2007, some 46 million Americans had no health care plan. During 2007 and 2008, another 45 million lost their health care for some period of time - that's 1 out of 4 people who found themselves in the scary health care free zone. And it’s been worsened by the economic meltdown. More than half of all personal bankruptcies are attributed to health care debts. Families with insurance pay for the uninsured who get costly care in inefficient ways. The so-called hidden health care tax amounts to almost $1000 for those on a family plan. But in this health care moment, it seems like we're standing outside and assessing the weather patterns. The sky is dark, the wind is whipping, rain and hail are falling. There's thunder and lightning, and we're just not sure if we should step out of the storm. The bright-sky folks see the opportunity to change and build a program that works for everyone. There are those who say the storm's not that bad, that we'll do fine with a few tweaks. Others suggest the weather here is not as bad as in the countries that practice dreaded socialized medicine. And on it goes. One thing for sure: the forecasts are predictable depending on the source. The AMA predicts a stormy outcome if Medicare rates became the norm and doctor’s incomes are reduced. Insurance companies, Big Pharma and McHospitals fear a more cost effective system and a possible government-run plan that competes with them or reins in costs. Big business just can't cost-compete with the non-profits because of ...well, profits, investor returns, executive salaries, stock options, jets and skyboxes, the cost of doing business. So, who’ll pay for those expensive Yankee and Red Sox tickets if your premiums don’t? Polls show most want a health care system that actually works – one that’s affordable and accessible, and provides coverage to every American regardless of their station in life and it’s not a bad thing to have government involved. But to get there one needs to find out the facts, check the sources, filter false forecasts of gloom and doom and decide what’s best for everyone’s future – then join the crowd of activists. Not easy but incredibly essential – it won’t happen by itself. My finger-in-the-wind prediction - this storm will pass, the skies will clear and we will get on track with a plan that will work for all of us – after a tough fight.